Development[edit]

The production of Black started when Sanjay Leela Bhansali came up with the idea for the film while the shooting of his directorial debut, the musical Khamoshi: The Musical, between 1993 and 1994 when he interacted with physically disabled children.^[2] After the successes of the romance Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and the historical epic Devdas (2002)—one of the most expensive Hindi films ever made at the time—he had made a plan to make another film in the romantic genre.^[8][9] Still, the actress Jaya Bachchan criticized his work from Devdas and encouraged him to "attempt something different"; in later years, he would say that it motivated him to make Black.^[10] Bhansali chose to address a subject that no other directors had done before: "I didn't want to stop making a film straight from my heart because of the fear of losing my audiences."^[11] He described it as "a step towards a more complex kind of film than what we get in mainstream cinema", adding, "It is an uplifting tale on the triumph of the human spirit."^[11][12] He announced the film in July 2003, along with his other project, Bajirao Mastani, which would be released in 2015.^[12] The media declared it as his "most personal film".^[13]


Bhansali revealed that he was inspired by American activist Helen Keller's life story. However, he stated that he only used it as a reference and the film was "a completely original piece of work".^[14] Additionally, Bhansali also read Keller's autobiography The Story of My Life and other related books, including Geraldine Lawhorn's On the Crossroads (about a deaf-and-blind musician). In an interview with The Hindu, he said, "I was fascinated by the ways in which teachers and parents struggled to reach out to the hearing-impaired children. How do you start the communication? How do you keep it going? What takes other children a year to learn takes 10 years for them to absorb."^[11] In addition, some sources claimed that it served as a remake for Arthur Penn's The Miracle Worker (1962), but Bhansali denied the reports.^[15] Others claimed that the film was based on Prakash Kapadia's Gujarati play Aatam Vinjhe Paankh, which was inspired by The Miracle Worker.^[16]


Bhansali chose the word black for the film's title; according to him, black is his favorite color and he felt it has a "universal resonance".^[12] He explained how the color's monotones and shades were "very attractive if used intelligently", and it was "the best element ... that ... doesn't overshadow the characters or narrative".^[17] He added that it was "a powerful striking colour which describes the film's sensitivities", and defined his mood and temperament.^[12][18] "I wear black clothes most of the time. The colour calms me. When I decided to make a film about the world of the sightless, Black was the title that came to mind immediately", he said when interviewed by Sify.^[19] The same title had been registered by the actor Kumar Gaurav before, and Bhansali asked him to relinquish and gave the title for his next project. According to an article published by Screen in November 2005, Gaurav saw that the film was "bold and path-breaking"; consequently, he finally gave up the title. As gratitude, Bhansali credited Gaurav's name in the opening credits of Black.^[16]


Bhansali told The Telegraph that Keller's life was an "exemplary to all of us", believing that he had "personally learned so much from her"; he stated that he learned "the value of a teacher in any student's life".^[15] Journalists asserted that his involvement in both Black and Bajirao Mastani (a period film about the Peshwa Baji Rao I and his second wife Mastani) proved his ability in two opposite film genres; he expressed: "It is a conscious process of rejuvenation as a filmmaker. I have to reinvent myself as a creative person."^[12] He then described the former film as "an uplifting tale on the triumph of the human spirit",^[20] and it was "about feeling, not speaking".^[15] Furthermore, he added, "Black is about the love between a girl and her teacher. They teach each other the dignity of living. To call Black a love story is a true compliment. Black is a pure love story."^[15]